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Bean Pedaler, coffee/bicycle shop, opens on Main Street

Erica Koenig, manager of The Bean Pedaler, left, and barista Alyssa Steele, fill an order Thursday at the new coffee/bicycle shop at 420 Main St. (Carie Canterbury / Daily Record)

Erica Koenig, manager of The Bean Pedaler, fills an order Thursday at the new coffee/bicycle shop at 420 Main St. (Carie Canterbury / Daily Record)

If you go

What: Thursday Night Throwdown

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: The Bean Pedaler, 420 Main St.

Cost: $5 to participate, free to watch.

More info: Call 285-8169

The Bean Pedaler is more than just an excellent cup of coffee or cool bike, it's about a new and developing culture on Main Street.

Owner Scott Eckstrom moved Red Canyon Cycles a couple of doors down and added a coffee shop that offers a variety of drinks and a place to listen to fun music and hang out. Both businesses operate at 420 Main St. in the heart of downtown.

The coffee/bicycle shop opened its doors March 6. Manager Erica Koenig said the baristas are trained in the "bike world" and are able to make a latte, as well as answer questions about bicycles.

"The worlds go together," she said. "Outdoor people are up early, then they drink their coffee. The two worlds make sense to us."

Eckstrom said by opening the coffee shop, he is trying to build a culture in Cañon City.

"Everything I do, even being on city council, is trying to build a culture for Cañon City that doesn't exist," he said. "Erica is bringing in the dimensions that I wouldn't think about, or that she is passionate about that I am interested in learning about, and combined, we are going to develop a culture built around, right now, these two mediums, bicycles and coffee."

Eckstrom said he is passionate about downtown and building it in a way that is pleasing to most people. The Bean Pedaler is part of that.

"This space, and the culture is going to continue to grow," he said. "There is always going to be something new in here, every time you come in here, there should be something new."

Koenig said with the mild year-around climate, people should take advantage of the outdoor recreation in the area, including bicycling.

Erica Koenig, manager of The Bean Pedaler, left, and barista Alyssa Steele, fill an order Thursday at the new coffee/bicycle shop at 420 Main St. (Carie Canterbury / Daily Record)

"That's what we are all about," she said. "Getting people in, getting you fueled up and getting you back out to enjoy the area that we are in."

The Bean Pedaler offers a limited selection of flavors, Koenig said, in an effort to avoid a lot of "syrupy sweetness."

"We want you to taste how hard the farmers work to grow the perfect coffee cherry, how hard the sorters work to sort out any perfections, how impeccable our roasters are at creating the perfect roast profile and how skilled and trained our baristas are," she said. "We want you to taste that."

Koenig said The Bean Pedaler is not a wi-fi cafe, it's a place where patrons are encourage to connect with one another and with the baristas.

"Find out what we are doing, talk to the bike mechanic," she said. "We want you to help create community and the way to do that is getting off your phones, getting off the Internet and getting back in touch."

Indoor seating is available, as well as outdoors in the front of the shop, and soon the back patio will be open.

Those bringing in bicycles for service or repair may access the bicycle shop through the alley entrance.

A three-day grand opening is planned for Thursday through Saturday.

A Thursday Night Throwdown, a latte art competition, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday. Cost to participate is $5, but it is free to watch. Winner "takes all," Koenig said, and there will be prizes for second and third place winners. Doors open at 6 p.m. with drinks available for purchase until 6:45 p.m.

A grand opening cruiser ride is set for 6 p.m. Friday. Cyclists are invited to meet at the shop for the First Friday event. A ribbon cutting is planned for Saturday, but a time has not yet been determined.

The Bean Pedaler is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with plans to open Sundays beginning in May, and Red Canyon Cycles is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The business phone for both entities is 285-8169.

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